[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14291-14294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04736]



[[Page 14291]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 81

[EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0953; FRL-10502-02-R9]


Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; 
California; Coachella Valley Ozone Nonattainment Area; Reclassification 
to Extreme

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is granting requests by the California Air Resources Board 
(CARB) to reclassify the Coachella Valley ozone nonattainment area in 
California from ``Severe-15'' to ``Extreme'' for the 2008 ozone 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). This action does not 
reclassify any areas of Indian country within the boundaries of the 
Coachella Valley 2008 ozone nonattainment area. The new applicable 
attainment date for the Coachella Valley ozone nonattainment area for 
the 2008 ozone NAAQS will be the date by which attainment can be 
achieved as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than July 20, 
2032. In connection with the reclassification, the EPA is approving a 
deadline of no later than 18 months from the effective date of this 
rule for submittal of revisions to the Coachella Valley portion of the 
California state implementation plan (SIP) to meet additional 
requirements for Extreme ozone nonattainment areas. Lastly, the EPA is 
extending our previous limited approval of the motor vehicle emissions 
budgets to new budgets to be developed as part of a SIP meeting the 
Extreme area requirements for the Coachella Valley.

DATES: This rule is effective April 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2022-0953. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 
confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available through https://www.regulations.gov, or please 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information. If you need assistance 
in a language other than English or if you are a person with a 
disability who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, 
please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Khoi Nguyen, Planning & Analysis 
Branch (AIR-2-2), EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105, (415) 947-4120, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us,'' 
and ``our'' refer to the EPA.

Table of Contents

I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. EPA Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Proposed Action

    On January 11, 2023, the EPA proposed to grant a request by the 
State of California to reclassify the Riverside County (Coachella 
Valley), CA ozone nonattainment (``Coachella Valley'') area from 
Severe-15 to Extreme for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.\1\ Our January 11, 2023 
proposed rule provides background information on the EPA's promulgation 
of the 2008 ozone NAAQS and the area designations and classifications 
for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 88 FR 1543.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The proposed rule describes CARB's requests for reclassification of 
the Coachella Valley from Severe-15 to Extreme for the 2008 ozone NAAQS 
and the basis for our proposed approval of the requests. The proposed 
rule also describes the Extreme area requirements applicable to the 
Coachella Valley nonattainment area following the EPA's approval of the 
voluntary reclassification requests and proposes a deadline of no later 
than 18 months from the effective date of reclassification for 
submittal of revisions to the Coachella Valley portion of the 
California SIP that address the Extreme ozone nonattainment area 
requirements. The proposed rule further describes the EPA's proposal to 
continue to limit the duration of our approval of the budgets in the 
2016 Coachella Valley Ozone SIP until we find revised budgets developed 
for the Extreme area plan to be adequate.\2\ Lastly, the proposed rule 
clarifies that this action would not reclassify any areas of Indian 
country within the Coachella Valley. Please see the proposed rule for 
further detail concerning these topics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The EPA previously approved motor vehicle emissions budgets 
for the Coachella Valley for the 2008 ozone NAAQS in 2020. 85 FR 
57714 (September 16, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Today, we are taking final action to grant CARB's requests to 
reclassify the Coachella Valley nonattainment area to Extreme 
nonattainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Pursuant to the 
reclassification, the Coachella Valley nonattainment area will be 
required to attain the 2008 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as 
practicable, but no later than July 20, 2032. We are also taking final 
action to establish a schedule of no later than 18 months from the 
effective date of this final action for CARB to submit SIP revisions 
addressing Extreme area requirements for the Coachella Valley and to 
submit revisions to the title V operating permit rules for the 
Coachella Valley. Lastly, we are finalizing our action to continue to 
limit the duration of our approval of the budgets in the 2016 Coachella 
Valley Ozone SIP until we find revised budgets developed for the 
Extreme area plan to be adequate. As explained in the proposal, this 
action does not reclassify any areas of Indian country within the 
Coachella Valley.

II. Public Comments and EPA Responses

    The EPA's proposed action provided a 30-day public comment period. 
During this period, the EPA received two comments from private 
individuals. The full text of these comments is available in the docket 
for this rulemaking.
    The first commenter generally supported our proposed action and 
indicated that the action will help to improve air quality by setting 
stricter standards for the region. We acknowledge the commenter's 
support of the EPA's proposed action and agree that reclassification of 
the area is appropriate for reasons cited by the commenter. As 
described below, we are finalizing the action as proposed.
    The second commenter also supported the rulemaking action and asked 
that the EPA, if it has the authority to do so, insert additional 
requirements that further limit road transportation within the airshed 
or require the expansion of zero-emission public-transit networks 
within the Coachella Valley to further offset and reduce transportation 
emissions. The commenter also asserted that the state should be 
prohibited from issuing any new construction and/or operating permits 
for title V sources and other regulated stationary sources in the 
Coachella Valley. The EPA appreciates the commenter's support for the 
proposed action. While the measures suggested in the comment are 
outside of

[[Page 14292]]

the scope of this rulemaking action and outside of the scope of the 
EPA's statutory authority, we note that the purpose of the 
reclassification action is to require CARB and the local air district 
to develop more stringent control measures to improve air quality under 
part D of title I of the CAA. The commenter may wish to raise ideas 
regarding specific control measures during the state plan development 
process.

III. EPA Action

    Pursuant to CAA section 181(b)(3), the EPA is granting a request by 
the State of California to reclassify the Coachella Valley ozone 
nonattainment area from Severe-15 to Extreme for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 
Upon reclassification, the Coachella Valley will be required to attain 
the 2008 ozone NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 
July 20, 2032.
    In connection with the reclassification, and pursuant to our 
general CAA section 301(a) authority, the EPA is establishing a 
deadline of no later than 18 months from the effective date of this 
action for the submittal of SIP revisions addressing the Extreme area 
requirements applicable to the Coachella Valley nonattainment area.\3\ 
We are also establishing 18 months from the effective date of this 
action as the deadline for the submittal of any corresponding 
revisions, or certifications, as appropriate, to the NSR and title V 
program rules that apply in the affected area.\4\ Lastly, we are 
finalizing our action to continue to limit the duration of our approval 
of the motor vehicle emissions budgets in the 2016 Coachella Valley 
Ozone SIP until we find revised budgets developed for the Extreme area 
plan to be adequate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ As described in the proposed rule, these requirements 
include: a base year emissions inventory, an emissions statement 
rule, a new source review (NSR) program, additional reasonably 
available control technology rules for the lower Extreme area major 
source threshold, a reasonably available control measures 
demonstration, an attainment demonstration, a reasonable further 
progress demonstration, contingency measures, an enhanced motor 
vehicle inspection and maintenance program, a clean fuels fleet 
program, enhanced ambient air monitoring, transportation control 
strategies and measures to offset emissions increases from vehicle 
miles traveled, a CAA section 185 fee program, and use of clean 
fuels or advanced control technology for boilers. The proposed rule 
includes more information about these requirements.
    \4\ We note that this timeline is consistent with CAA section 
502(i), which provides permitting authorities 18 months to correct 
problems related to administration of a title V program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This action does not reclassify any areas of Indian country. Under 
the EPA's Consultation Policy, the EPA consults on a government-to-
government basis with federally recognized tribal governments when the 
EPA's actions and decisions may affect tribal interests.\5\ The EPA is 
currently undergoing this consultation process and any proposed 
reclassification of tribal lands will be addressed in a future 
rulemaking action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The EPA's Consultation Policy is available at https://www.epa.gov/tribal/epa-policy-consultation-and-coordination-indian-tribes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With this action, we are updating the designation table at 40 CFR 
81.305 to identify the new attainment classification for state lands 
within the Coachella Valley nonattainment area. We are also updating 
the table to revise the listing for the ``Cabazon Band of Mission 
Indians'' to specify the ``Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians,'' which 
reflects the tribe's current federally recognized name.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See 88 FR 1543, 1544 n.5. See also 88 FR 2112 (January 12, 
2023) (noting the change in tribal name as recognized by the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), this final action is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not subject to 
Executive Order 12866. With respect to lands under state jurisdiction, 
voluntary reclassifications under CAA section 181(b)(3) are based 
solely upon requests by the state, and the EPA is required under the 
CAA to grant them. These actions do not, in and of themselves, impose 
any new requirements on any sectors of the economy. In addition, 
because the statutory requirements are clearly defined with respect to 
the differently classified areas, and because those requirements are 
automatically triggered by reclassification, reclassification does not 
impose a materially adverse impact under Executive Order 12866. For 
these reasons, this final action is also not subject to Executive Order 
13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001).
    In addition, I certify that this final action will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and that 
this final action does not contain any unfunded mandate or 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4), because the EPA 
is required to grant requests by states for voluntary 
reclassifications, and such reclassifications in and of themselves do 
not impose any federal intergovernmental mandate, and because tribes 
are not subject to implementation plan submittal deadlines that apply 
to states as a result of reclassifications.
    This final action also does not have tribal implications because it 
will not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, 
on the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes, 
or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the 
federal government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 
13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    Executive Order 12898, ``Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations'' (59 FR 
7629, Feb. 16, 1994), directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
The EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' The EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean 
that ``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    The air agency did not evaluate environmental justice 
considerations as part of its reclassification request; the CAA and 
applicable implementing regulations neither prohibit nor require such 
an evaluation. The EPA did not perform an EJ analysis and did not 
consider EJ in this action. Due to the nature of the action being taken 
here, this action is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on 
the air quality of the affected area. Consideration of EJ is not 
required as part of this action, and there is no information in the 
record inconsistent with the stated goal of E.O. 12898 of achieving 
environmental justice for people of color, low-income populations, and 
Indigenous peoples.
    This final action also does not have federalism implications 
because it does not have substantial direct effects on the states, on 
the relationship between the national government and the states, nor on 
the distribution of power and

[[Page 14293]]

responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This final 
action does not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the CAA.
    This final action also is not subject to Executive Order 13045, 
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because the EPA interprets 
Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those regulatory actions that 
concern health or safety risks, such that the analysis required under 
section 5-501 of Executive Order 13045 has the potential to influence 
the regulation.
    As this final action establishes a deadline for the submittal of 
CAA required plans and information, the requirements of section 12(d) 
of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 
U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. This final action does not impose an 
information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 8, 2023. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of 
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for 
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness 
of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2) of the 
CAA.)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: March 2, 2023.
Martha Guzman Aceves,
Regional Administrator, Region IX.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the EPA amends part 81, 
chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
1. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq.

Subpart C--Section 107 Attainment Status Designations

0
2. Section 81.305 is amended by revising the entry for ``Riverside 
County (Coachella Valley), CA'' in the table titled ``California--2008 
8-Hour Ozone NAAQS [Primary and Secondary]'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.305  California.

* * * * *

                                       California--2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS
                                             [Primary and secondary]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Designation                          Classification
           Designated area           ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Date \1\            Type              Date \1\             Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Riverside County (Coachella Valley),
 CA: \2\
    Riverside County (part).........  .........  Nonattainment...........     4/7/2023  Extreme.
        That portion of Riverside
         County which lies to the
         east of a line described as
         follows: Beginning at the
         Riverside-San Diego County
         boundary and running north
         along the range line common
         to Range 4 East and Range 3
         East, San Bernardino Base
         and Meridian; then east
         along the Township line
         common to Township 8 South
         and Township 7 South; then
         north along the range line
         common to Range 5 East and
         Range 4 East; then west
         along the Township line
         common to Township 6 South
         and Township 7 South to the
         southwest corner of Section
         34, Township 6 South, Range
         4 East; then north along
         the west boundaries of
         Sections 34, 27, 22, 15,
         10, and 3, Township 6
         South, Range 4 East; then
         west along the Township
         line common to Township 5
         South and Township 6 South;
         then north along the range
         line common to Range 4 East
         and Range 3 East; then west
         along the south boundaries
         of Sections 13, 14, 15, 16,
         17, and 18, Township 5
         South, Range 3 East; then
         north along the range line
         common to Range 2 East and
         Range 3 East; to the
         Riverside-San Bernardino
         County line. And that
         portion of Riverside County
         which lies to the west of a
         line described as follows:
         That segment of the
         southwestern boundary line
         of hydrologic Unit Number
         18100100 within Riverside
         County.
    Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla    .........  Nonattainment...........  ...........  Severe-15.
     Indians of the Agua Caliente
     Indian Reservation \3\.
    Augustine Band of Cahuilla        .........  Nonattainment...........  ...........  Severe-15.
     Indians \3\.
    Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians  .........  Nonattainment...........  ...........  Severe-15.8
     \3\.
    Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla       .........  Nonattainment...........  ...........  Severe-15.
     Indians \3\.

[[Page 14294]]

 
    Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla   .........  Nonattainment...........  ...........  Severe-15.
     Indians \3\.
    Twenty-Nine Palms Band of         .........  Nonattainment...........  ...........  Severe-15.
     Mission Indians of California
     \3\.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This date is July 20, 2012, unless otherwise noted.
\2\ Excludes Indian country located in each area, unless otherwise noted.
\3\ Includes Indian country of the tribe listed in this table located in the identified area. Information
  pertaining to areas of Indian country in this table is intended for CAA planning purposes only and is not an
  EPA determination of Indian country status or any Indian country boundary. EPA lacks the authority to
  establish Indian country land status, and is making no determination of Indian country boundaries, in this
  table.

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-04736 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


